Fire and Ice
by Jayru
Summary: 1950s. The Salvatore Corporation and Mikaelson Industries were the progeny of a feud between two families that had lasted for generations. Caroline Forbes, the adopted daughter of Giuseppi Salvatore and the adopted sister of Damon and Stefan Salvatore is caught in the crossfire when Pentacorp starts picking off members of both groups.
1. An Abhorrent Arrangement

**A/N: Hey guys, this is my first fanfic ever so I'd really appreciate any reviews you have for me! Thanks a bunch :)**

**Oh also Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, they're all from TVD**

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**New York City, New York **

It had only been two weeks since Giuseppi Salvatore had died. She hadn't even had time to process it when her brothers dropped yet another bombshell in her lap.

"I'm sorry, Caroline. But it's for the best for everyone." Damon said, somewhat ashamed. Stefan lurked behind him, letting his brother do the dirty work at least having the decency to look somewhat abashed.

"I am not going to _marry_ a Mikaelson. Let alone Niklaus Mikaelson! Are you crazy? He'd kill me!" she responded, shocked at the suggestion. Her cousins, though they were more like brothers to her looked at her with pity, but said nothing. Damon was now head of the Salvatore Corporation and Stefan was his man in the boardroom. Caroline, Giuseppi's adoptive daughter (both of her parents had died five years ago and being her closest living relative took her under his wing) had been the closest to him out of the three but his death had come as a shock, a heart attack at 53, and so he had never had time to revise his will.

It was not something Caroline would have thought would be a problem, Damon and Stefan loved her, she was a Salvatore in all but name. But now they were trying to get her to marry a Mikaelson?

Mikaleson Industries is Salvatore Corporation's biggest competitor, but it goes much farther than that. There seemingly eternal feud between the families now reaches far past the business deals and cordial lunches. Back alley stabbings between associates, muggings of related members of either family, occasionally even fighting between members of their respective immediate families. But Caroline had only ever heard whispers, she was never directly involved. However, she had a knee-jerk hatred of all things Mikaelson that had been drilled into her since before she could remember

"There's no point in dragging this out, Barbie. In order to end this feud-" Damon started. Caroline winced internally at the moniker then spit out,

"Why the hell do we have to end the feud now? What's changed? No more backbone, Damon?!"

"Of course not! But I do recognize other threats when I see them. Larger threats. Pentacorp is challenging the two of us for dominance and not just in business deals, though they're hurting us enough there! They're picking off our men left and right in the streets. Father talked about this before his death, he knew we would have to ally with one of them before long and we know the Mikaelson's! We may despise them, but we know them and I can't say the same for Pentacorp!" Damon finished angrily.

"You can't make me do this, you know." Caroline said defiantly, "I am not your _property!_" There were a couple of moments of silence, Stefan had stayed silent this whole time, he'd always had a difficult time making a decision when the path was not black and white. _But this should be, I'm your sister!_ Caroline thought furiously. _But maybe they don't think of me that way..._

Damon had walked over to his wood paneled desk and thumbed his way down to a switch, after a moment's hesitation he flicked it and it revealed a live feed of Elena Gilbert and Bonnie Bennet, it was as if they were being watched from behind some trees. _  
_

"We knew you wouldn't want to do this. But this is what needs to happen. We're all making sacrifices here, Caroline. If you want your friends to stay safe, you _will _do what I say." Caroline stared at her best friends on the screen for a moment. Then without saying a word, she turned slowly towards Damon, walked a few feet towards him, and with deadly calm hauled back and punched him in the face. He staggered and grabbed his jaw but it did not seem to have a large effect on him. She then turned to Stefan. _Et tu, Brute?_ She thought bitterly. He had always been her knight in shining armor. When she had felt one-upped by Elena, when Matt and Tyler had stomped on her heart, when she remembered her parents on their birthdays...

She walked out of the room calmly but once she had made it safely into her room, the storm that had been brewing beneath the icy blonde exterior melted and she collapsed, silent tears streaming down her face as she struggled not to make a sound.

She had been like this since her parents' tragic deaths. Animal attack in the forest apparently. She had been a happy, bright and affectionate child. Playing with her cousins, now brothers, skipping with Elena and Bonnie. But at 12 years old that had all changed. The five years since then had been spent retaining all emotion, except in solitude. But even then she did not allow herself to make a sound or feel all that she could feel, for it would be an insult to her parents' memory to let anything hurt her as much as that had.

Caroline walked into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She calmly wiped her face dry and schooled her features into a pale mask. She was stronger than anything the Salvatore's could throw at her. She could best anything the world could shove down her throat. She would figure all of this out.

But for now, all she really could do was sleep.

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**Well, I hope you all like where this is going! I published this without editing but I just went back through it and fixed some sentences I didn't like. I know it's rather short but I'm pretty sure it's going to be super long and I'll update pretty frequently so you'll see short tidbits two or three times a week! **


	2. An Enigmatic Encounter

**Hey guys, back again! Hopefully some reviews this time about whether or not you like the characterization/is it consistent/ where you'd like the story to go or just whether or not you like it? Thanks a ton!**

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It had been four months since Damon had told her she would be marrying Niklaus Mikaelson, four months since she had spoken a word to anyone outside of "Yes" and "No" when asked about decisions for the wedding. Niklaus was away on business until tonight which would be the first time she would be meeting him. Tonight also happened to be the night before her wedding.

Caroline had done her research as well as she could. Her initial snooping in her father's files (before Damon found her and told her to leave) revealed a passionately angry, and if she was being honest, rather attractive young man. He was 21 years to her 18. As the heir to the company, though not the oldest of his siblings, it had seemed he had taken over due to competence rather than birthright when his father had died two years previously.

Life had not been kind to the Mikaelson family, the mother, Esther had died giving birth to the youngest, Henrik, about whom she could find almost no information. The firstborn, Finn was quiet, married and stayed mainly behind the scenes with his wife, Sage. Finn was somewhat of an intellectual, but in the few pictures she found of him, he looked rather depressed. Following Finn came Elijah: reserved, powerful and she knew from whispered conversations that he was Niklaus' right hand man when it came to the dark underworld they ran. Niklaus was next and after him was Rebekah, the only daughter. She was rather pretty but being only 14 years of age had lent her much anonymity.

In any case, it was a family of sociopathic billionaire murderers that she was marrying into. But to be perfectly honest, so was the family she had been adopted into.

Caroline had spent most of the last four months thinking about how to get out of this. She could not run she had decided, what would happen to Bonnie and Elena? She could not kill herself, though she had contemplated this many times. She just- didn't have it in her. Perhaps it was cowardice, but she couldn't imagine never waking up again. This had lead her to know that she had something to live _for. _She would have to marry him she had realized, sometime in the middle of month two. After that she had come out of her shell a little. She had maintained her icy silence towards her brothers but had dictated the wedding instructions and had buried herself in the work of event planning.

_Even if I have to marry the bastard, doesn't mean I have to be his wife in more than name only, _she had thought to herself. _This is a business arrangement. I don't have to love him. I don't have to do anything but pretend to care in public, then he and his family will leave me alone and I can do what I want. They've all underestimated me, but I am going to become a big player in this business and by the end of it, no one will tell me what to do. _

_ They'll all rue the day. _She smiled vengefully in the mirror.

That night, Caroline took extra care with her appearance. She didn't want to seem like a baby, but she could not pull of dangerous just yet. She settled on a black, somewhat daring, knee-length dress and blue pumps. The dress cinched right above her waist, creating a waterfall effect until it stopped at her knees. She wore her hair down, but pinned back and when her maid came up to tell her dinner was ready and that the Mikaelsons were all here, she added one final touch: a silver headband, more of a tiara really that encircled her golden hair. It had been an heirloom passed down from her mother's side. She had never gotten a chance to give it to Caroline but it had been found in her possessions after-

Caroline cleared her throat and her mind and sticking her nose proudly in the air, slowly rose and left the room.

_What was taking this girl so long?_ Klaus thought irritably. The girl was lovely, yes but he and Elijah had been waiting down here for ages and if he had to stand without speaking to Damon and Stefan Salvatore for much longer without a distraction he may start shouting. Elijah placed an arm on his shoulder calmingly. Klaus shot him a look but sighed and quit his pacing.

Damon and Stefan were standing a few feet away from the Mikaelson brothers. Stefan looked apprehensive, but Damon mirrored Klaus's annoyance. _Where the fuck was Caroline?_ He hadn't attempted to breach her stone-cold silence the last few months because there really wasn't anything to say. Besides, she would come around eventually. Barbie always did.

Stefan on the other hand had been wracked with guilt, shoving letters into her room, sending up her favorite foods, trying to get her to talk to him. But even as he choked out monologue after monologue of heartfelt love and regret, even though he knew she knew he loved her, they both knew that would never make up for what had been done. _Even if Caroline is happy one day_ Stefan thought forlornly, _she will never forgive me for this. _

A noise at the top of the staircase made the four of them look up. Caroline was a vision in black and blue. Damon crinkled his nose disapprovingly at the length of her dress but Stefan could only see the practiced calm that she had painted upon her face.

Elijah looked at his brother, the girl was beautiful but from all the accounts he had heard she had been a silly girl whose parents' deaths had broken her. Weak. Ineffectual. But in the end incredibly important by accident of birth. Nik's reaction on the other hand was rather immediate. The annoyance on his face was immediately transformed to incredulous appreciation and finally to hungry anticipation.

Klaus watched Caroline step down the stairs, her eyes affixed to her feet as they made their way down, her gloved hand sliding down the bannister. She had not looked to the room yet. On the last step, he saw a slight hesitation, her eyes closed for a moment and her other hand clenched to her side. This lasted for but a moment until she stepped down and simultaneously lifted her eyes to meet everyone's gaze.

_Smile, Caroline_, she instructed herself. She curved her lips slightly upwards, she had underestimated how scared of the Mikaelsons she was. She walked first to Damon and Stefan and kissed each of them on the cheek murmuring an apology for her lateness. Then she extended her hand first to Elijah and then to Niklaus.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Elijah said quietly, noting the quick withdrawal of her hand from Stefan and Damon after her initial greeting. Klaus had not yet let go of her hand.

Caroline stared at the man before her, Niklaus Mikaelson was a full head taller than she was. Broad shouldered, dirty blonde hair, green eyes baring into her. _Why is he looking at me like that? _She wondered, her heart thumping fearfully, glancing down again she stepped forward towards him and surreptitiously pulled her hand out of his without making it look like she had been caught. He smirked at her, straightening himself to his full height, she almost flinched but schooled herself.

"Well, now that we've all been introduced, I suggest we move into the dining room." she said, annoyed at how breathy her voice sounded but determined to take charge. She turned in the direction of the dining room and began to walk over but after only a few steps she felt a hand on her back, shocked blue eyes met mischievous green ones. She refocused on her destination and tried to shut down her internal screaming. He looked at her like prey. She had underestimated this. She had underestimated him.


	3. An Opaque Occasion

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! Especially to Anne who pointed out that I'd accidentally identified the ship as &Klaus instead of Caroline&Klaus haha. In any case, I hope you enjoy!**

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Caroline wasn't sure what had woken her up, but staring up into the 4AM darkness she reflected on the previous nights' events. The dinner had been awkward to put it mildly. Damon had taken a few stabs at conversation that Elijah had attempted to promulgate, but Klaus had spent much of dinner simmering at Caroline. Not talking to her, really, though he'd asked a few questions, he'd looked like he was attempting to absorb her.

Caroline angrily punched her bed, muffling her angry exhalations into her pillow. _What the hell is wrong with me? I CANNOT be that scared around him! He definitely knew how afraid I was. I could barely meet his eyes! _

It was only a few hours until her wedding, and her ridiculously idealistic plan from the previous day seemed so far away. She needed to focus. _The only way I'm ever going to stop being a pawn in everyone else's games is if I stop being a pawn at all. But how can I become more powerful? It's not like they're just going to hand it over to me..._ She sat up straight.

_I'm going to be Mrs. Caroline Salvatore Forbes-Mikaelson. Those are two of the most powerful names in this city. The only people who know I don't have any power are in the immediate family. _She giggled to herself, a tad slap-happy she supposed.

"Mrs. Caroline Salvatore Forbes-Mikaelson. It has a ring to it, I suppose," she said to the empty darkness. She wasn't any less afraid, but she clung to that idea. Fake it til you make it. With a small determined smile on her face she fell back on her pillows, closed her eyes, and drifted to sleep.

10 AM found Caroline in a floor length ivory silk gown staring at herself in the mirror. The hairdresser and makeup stylist had left, her brothers had come in and given her chaste kisses on the cheek. She looked beautiful. Her hair was pinned back, her cascading golden locks held back with blue pins. Adorning her neck was a gift from Klaus, a diamond choker that she was sure had some ridiculous significance. She wished that Elena and Bonnie could have been here for her, but after Damon and Stefan had threatened them to force her into this situation she had cut off all ties. She didn't need anyone that could be used as leverage against her getting hurt. She gave herself a final once over and walked to the door.

She looked outside her room to where the four other individuals in the wedding train were standing. Rebekah Mikaelson was accompanying Stefan as a bridesmaid and Damon was walking with one of the various Mikaelson cousins after she had firmly told him last night that no, hell would freeze over before she allowed him to walk her down the aisle.

Klaus was waiting in the front of church. _How bloody long is this going to take? _Elijah was standing next to him, the model of decorum shooting him disapproving looks every now and then when he had the audacity to shift his weight from one foot to the other. The pianist came in and sat down at the bench. _Finally, _he thought, restraining himself from rolling his eyes. The music began playing as Damon walked out with Rose Mikaelson, who looked quite taken with her partner. Klaus almost wrinkled his nose in disgust. After that came Stefan and Rebekah, both of whom looked incredibly preoccupied. Rebekah shot Klaus a look of support to which he slightly inclined his head. The whole church stood up as Caroline entered the room.

She was striking. The whole church was taken aback as the woman strode slowly, but confidently up the aisle. Alone, unaccompanied, no man to give her away, her chin not stuck in the air, but purposefully placed parallel to the floor. A moment later, the veiled woman was at Klaus' side and the two turned towards the priest her arm in his.

Caroline had made quite an impression on the room, the room had expected a girl, a feeble, docile and scared child that would scurry to the front of the room and spend the rest of her life in the shadows attempting to avoid irritating anyone of import. But as Elijah watched the young woman in front of him, he mentally narrowed his eyes, _What were the Salvatore's planning? Had they planted her here as a spy?_ He immediately dismissed the thought, remembering the unconscious distance between Caroline and the Salvatore brothers. _Whatever's going on with this, they are not in this together. _

Klaus lifted the veil at the priests command and found Caroline, eyes already closed awaiting his kiss. The two of them walked down the aisle amidst cheers and flung rice and rushed into the waiting limo, smiling for pictures, the ever-so happy couple would be featured in a number of social magazines.

Almost the moment Klaus closed the door of the limo behind them, the driver started the car. Caroline turned to her now-husband, unsure of what to say.

"Well, now that that's over with, I suppose we can start with the rules of our marriage." Klaus began, "I do not expect much from you, help Rebekah plan all of the social events, stay out of trouble, you will have money enough to do with it what you will but be aware that I have people checking, always. Feel free to travel, I suppose. You will have to do a fair bit with me, but not an excessive amount since most of my business is here in the city. Your loyalty from now on is not to your brothers but to me. You have forged an alliance but in the end, the choice must always be Mikaelson for you. Am I understood?" Caroline's relief at not having to find the words to speak was immediately washed away by overpowering disgust at the slime she had married. As he spoke, she thought carefully upon what he had said. What did he expect her to reply? Did he expect her to reply?

"Perfectly, Niklaus. Now for a few rules of my own." Where her surprise had manifested itself in a cool tone, his jerked his head around quickly. "I do not expect much. I will do as you've asked, but I will not 'help Rebekah' I will plan these events. Have me watched, I suppose I have no power over that but I hope we can have a cordial relationship, anything warmer is not something either of us wish, but a working relationship is in order."

"You can call me Klaus," was all that he said, Caroline detected a petulant tone.

The limo pulled to a stop and the couple got out. _Mikaelson Manor_, read the font in beautiful handwriting. Perhaps they had taken the long way to get there because all of their guests were waiting at the reception.

The evening was full of dancing and champagne. Rebekah had planned the night impeccably. The highlight of the night was when Kol had been found cornering a pretty Salvatore cousin. Her brother had almost punched him, Caroline hid a smirk behind a gloved hand, her eyes meeting Klaus' for a moment before moving on.

There were some toasts that Caroline barely paid attention to, distracted by Niklaus' constantly bouncing leg. His impatience was wearing on her. _If I can feign caring for this long so can he._ To his credit, however, he had kept up appearances, kissing her hand every once in a while, dutifully giving her a bite of his cake. The whole ritual sickened her, and if she was being completely honest, this made her a tad defeated. She would never get this for real. She shoved the thought out of her mind as she focused on saying goodbye as her guests drifted out.

"Time for you to go," proclaimed a female voice as a hand wrapped around her wrist. The voice and wrist belonged to Rebekah and Caroline barely kept her wits about her as she was dragged unceremoniously from the room. Rebekah tripped lightly up two flights of stairs, pulling Caroline behind her all the while, perhaps intentionally forgetting the length of Caroline's dress.

At the end of the hall, Rebekah stopped, "this is Klaus' and your room, it's been newly furnished for the both of you, courtesy of _moi._" Caroline smiled at the quick-talking young girl. "Well, I guess you can go in." She turned away, walked a few steps, then looked at Caroline who had her back turned to her still staring at the door.

"Just don't... anger him and you'll be fine." she said softly. Without checking to see if she'd heard, she strolled down the hallway, turned right, and disappeared.

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**A/N: As always, please please please review :) **


	4. A Stalwart Start

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. This is double the length of my normal chapter so hopefully you'll forgive me, haha.**

**In this story Elena/Katherine/Tatia do not look alike. They're all similar looking in my head. But they're not identical. And thanks to my AWESOME beta Deowaii! **

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Caroline watched Rebekah disappear around the corner and relaxed for the first time that night. She wasn't sure how long it would be until Klaus came upstairs, or if he would even come into this room, but she didn't want to waste any time. Lifting her skirts, she walked quickly to the bathroom, shut and locked the door.

"Wow," she whispered. Caroline was used to luxury, but this was something else. The bathroom was a tribute to everything bathrooms could be. Blue tiled floor led to a humongous bathtub on one end and a shower on the other. The whole left wall was mirrored with two large sink basins attached. Quickly getting over her shock she shimmied out of her dress and underthings. She turned on the hot water and took a quick shower, washing off her makeup and running a comb through her hair, anxiety crawled its way into her stomach. _What would he expect tonight? _Caroline wasn't sure what she would do if he came asking for that. She had dumped Tyler when he had gotten angry at her refusal to go beyond chaste kisses.

She shut off the water and toweled quickly. She brushed her teeth, then stopped in her tracks. _Did she have any clothing here? _She peeked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped tightly around her torso. _Still alone. Good_. Scurrying to the door she supposed to be the closet and turning on the light she found herself yet again taken aback to the lengths the Mikaelsons had gone to shock her.

"I can't think about this right now. Just find something to wear." Her hands started pulling open drawers and only found mens clothing. "Shit," she muttered under her breath. She walked to the other side and pulled open a dresser to find underthings. She pulled on the plainest ones she could find. Hopefully pajamas were close by. She found a white nightgown a few yards away. Marveling at its silky texture she pulled it over her head. Closing all the drawers, she turned back to the bedroom to get her wedding dress. Walking confidently over the soft carpeting, she heard a noise from behind her. She froze.

He had deliberately made a sound to alert her to his presence. Her off-white nightgown swayed for a moment after she'd detected the noise. He cleared his throat, unsure how to proceed. He walked towards her and she turned around, her face passive and waiting for him to say something.

"I see you've found everything to your liking," he said. She looked at him, head cocked to the left. The problem was, Klaus hadn't really decided what he was going to do. He cleared his throat again and walked to the closet to get his nightclothes. He heard her go into the bathroom and shuffle around. He changed quickly, dumping his clothes in the corner for the maids. She came into the closet behind him and hung up her wedding dress, arching one eyebrow at his hastily discarded tuxedo. She picked up his tie and began to roll it. "You don't have to do that," he said, "the maids take care of it."

"I know," she said, but continued. "It needs to be cleaned so I'll leave it by the door and tomorrow I'll talk with the help about how they're used to running things." She straightened up from the ground and walked out the door. Klaus followed her, closing the door behind him. She lowered the lighting, went to the left side of the bed and slipped under the covers. Suddenly annoyed, Klaus stalked over to the bed and, straddling her menacingly, growled,

"How do you know I won't just take what's lawfully mine?" She opened her eyes,

"I don't know you at all, Niklaus." He forcefully pressed his lips to hers and she squirmed backwards, shocked and at a loss for what to do. He pulled up and looked at her.

"That's right. You don't." He rolled off her onto the other side of the bed and turned off the lights completely.

Caroline lay immobile, waiting for him to do something. _Is this to be my life? Living in fear every night? _Her heartbeat slowed. She hoped he could find pleasure elsewhere. Reluctantly she drifted to sleep...

The next morning, Caroline awoke to an empty room. The grandfather clock on the opposite wall read a quarter to nine. Caroline groaned and got up. She quickly got ready for the day, dressing in beige capri pants and a white button down shirt, complete with a cardigan. She found comfortable white flats and styled her hair high into a bun. _There, I look at least 25._ She walked out of the door and almost immediately ran into the maid.

"Sorry, madame," said the girl, "I was just coming in to clean up."

"No problem at all," said Caroline warmly, hoping the girl would warm to her. "Would you mind telling me where the kitchen is and also where I may find the housekeeper?" After directions were given, Caroline inquired as to what the girls name was. Surprised, she looked up.

"Katherine, madame. Katherine Pierce."

"Lovely to meet you, Katherine." Caroline turned on her heel and walked away. Tripping lightly down the stairs, Caroline introduced herself to every servant she came across. Finally, she came to the breakfast room where a sleepy Rebekah and Henrik were seated. When she came into the room, they straightened up, wary. Caroline smiled reassuringly. "So what are we having today?" she asked, seating herself between the two of them at the head of the table. The two of them looked at each other.

"Um. Well you can order whatever you want. The cook will make it for you," said Henrik. Caroline raised her eyebrows.

"On a Saturday? How about we have a little fun? Follow me," she declared and got up from the table. She heard the two of them get up and follow her. Henrik was only 8 years old and Rebekah held his hand as the trio made their way to the kitchens.

"No one's here now. No one except the two of us ever eats here on the weekends so the cook only comes when we order something," said Rebekah.

"Perfect! Then we can make something," Caroline began opening cupboards and drawers, pulling out flour, mixing bowls, chocolate chips and other ingredients. "How do chocolate chip pancakes sound?"

Soon enough she had Henrik mixing and Rebekah cracking eggs. The two of them giggling as Caroline tried flipping the pancakes in the air, many times the product would land on the floor. By the time they had enough pancakes for all of them, they were ravenous. They sat around on the floor and devoured the pancakes.

"So what do you two usually do on the weekends?" Caroline asked.

"We watch TV and sometimes Rebekah reads to me." Henrik said.

"Sometimes Elijah will take us to a museum or Kol will take us to the park." Rebekah added, "One time Klaus took us to a drive-in movie."

"And during the week?" Caroline inquired, "Do you go to school?" They shook their heads.

"We have tutors," Rebekah said. Suddenly, the door opened revealing a matronly old woman. Caroline rose while Rebekah and Henrik ducked their heads.

"Hello, Madame. My name is Mrs. Rockwell, the housekeeper. Katherine mentioned that you may be looking for me."

"Yes, of course," Caroline said coming forward, hand held out. Mrs. Rockwell shook it swiftly. "Rebekah, Henrik would you go get cleaned up, I'll find you in a bit." The children walked out of the room, Henrik refusing to relinquish the bag of chocolate chips. "Now that we're alone, I'd like to discuss how you're used to running the household. I'd like to know how things work around here."

"We have sixteen people on regular staff. Seven maids do the daily cleaning, four people on kitchen staff including the cook. Two chauffeurs on a day-to-day basis. Two servers for dinnertime and myself," she began. "I usually plan everything myself, but beginning a year ago, Klaus wanted Rebekah to learn how to do these things so she's been helping out."

"She's fourteen!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Yes. And she's very competent. She planned your wedding with very little help from me." _I wasn't questioning her competence, _thought Caroline.

"Well, from now on, I will be planning all of the social events, so that will go through me." I would love it if you could provide me with the weekly plans every Sunday until I begin to get the hang of it." said Caroline. "I want you to know that in no way do I want to or mean to usurp your role. I hope we can work together in the future." Mrs. Rockwell's back relaxed at her words, perhaps she had been worried about becoming redundant. "Now I'm going to go find the children, would you mind assembling the help for me to talk to at the earliest convenience?"

"Of course, Madame." said Mrs. Rockwell and the two of them walked out together.

Caroline spent the rest of the day with Henrik and Rebekah in the library. They were both avid readers, Rebekah making her way through _The Three Musketeers _by Alexandre Dumas while Henrik read and reread _Peter and Wendy_ by J.M. Barrie. Caroline herself had found a drawer full of blank journals and wrote out everything that Mrs. Rockwell had told her and evencajoled Rebekah into telling her the weekly schedule of her and Henrik.

When they got hungry, Caroline rung for the maid. Katherine appeared. Out of the corner of her eye, Caroline saw Henrik and Rebekah look at each other nervously. Caroline asked Katherine to bring four sandwiches and orange juice. When she returned with the food, Caroline asked her to sit with them and eat. Initially refusing, Caroline insisted and the four of them sat around one of the many tables. Katherine was largely silent but she became more talkative as they alighted upon the topic of fashion. Rebekah looked bored but Henrik listened eagerly as the two women discussed everything from fabric to designer.

"You'll have to come with me when I go shopping, Katherine. You have marvelous taste." Caroline said laughing. When they finished, Caroline helped Katherine take all the tableware back to the kitchens. They met Mrs. Rockwell on the way down who told Caroline that the staff was assembling in the main hallway in 15 minutes. Caroline thanked her and proceeded down the steps.

Caroline waited outside the door to the main hallway, slightly nervous. This was step two in her looong plan to become an integral member of the goings-on in the Mikaelson family. She had to be in charge of the household. Not just to have a jumping off point, but because people underestimated how much their servants knew what was going on. She took a deep breath and walked into the room.

"Hello, everyone. As I'm sure you know, my name is Caroline Forbes-Mikaelson and I hope to get to know all of you better in the years to come." Her words sent a shockwave through her spine. _I'll be here for years._ She shook the thought out of her mind and went down the line of servants learning and committing their names to memory shaking each of their hands in turn. "I hope if you have any problems or thoughts you know you may come to me or even slip a note under my door if you wish to stay anonymous. Now I hope I haven't kept you long from your work, if you haven't any questions for me, that will be all." She heard someone mutter something. "Sorry, what was that?" Caroline said turning towards one of the footmen, _Marcus_ she remembered.

"Nothing, _Madame," _he spit out derisively as if he took the idea of answering to the likes of her repugnant. She walked slowly towards the man, not noticing that Elijah and Klaus had just entered the room or that Henrik and Rebekah were coming down the staircase.

"If you have a problem, Marcus, please. Feel free to share," she said slowly. His fellow footman, Alexander, pushed him and shook his head. Marcus did not heed his warning.

"Everyone knows you have no power in this household, so you can stop grasping at straws. Playing house with the children and having us line up like this means nothing. You're just a strategic wife. It's not a secret, you know." A couple of the maids gasped, Klaus started about to teach the man his manners, Elijah held him back. Katherine watched Caroline shrewdly. Caroline's eyes turned to steel and her voice came out like a whip.

"Well, Marcus. I'm sorry you feel that you can speak to me in this way, but you are sorely mistaken. I am Caroline Salvatore Forbes-Mikaelson and you, dear sir, are no longer welcome in this house. You have until tomorrow afternoon to depart unless you give me a good reason to let you stay. There will be a dozen men clamoring for your position tomorrow." She finally broke eye contact with the man. "The rest of you can return to work, I'll be in the kitchen shortly to discuss dinner." She turned on her heel, ignoring the shocked former employee and walked up the stairs. "Rebekah, Henrik, let's go upstairs and get you changed for dinner."

Klaus and Elijah watched her leave, newfound respect in Klaus' eyes. Suspicion in Elijah's.

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**A/N: Hope you enjoyed, and as always review please :)**


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